‘World stands disgraced’: 20 killed in Israeli UN school shelling

Palestinians collect human remains from a classroom inside a UN school in the Jabalia refugee camp after the area was hit by shelling on July 30, 2014 (AFP Photo / Marco Longari) / AFP

Twenty people have been killed after a shell hit the UNRWA girls' school in Jabalia refugee camp, emergency services say. The UN condemned Israeli actions in the strongest possible terms, calling them a serious violation of international law.

The outer wall of the complex was damaged by shellfire, and in a
targeted classroom people were picking body parts off the
blood-soaked floor, according to the agency’s correspondent in
the area.

More than one shell hit the school. The first in the courtyard
and the second a section primarily used by female pupils, RT
contributor Harry Fear reported from the scene. Currently, over
five UN schools are caught in the fighting, he added.

The shelling happened after 5:30am local time (02:30 GMT).

Almost 15,000 Palestinians were forced to seek shelter in 83
UNRWA schools, according to the UN refugee agency.

The UN relief and works agency for Palestine refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA) has strongly condemned the Israeli shelling of a UN
school last night.

“Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of
us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands
disgraced,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl
said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms this serious
violation of international law by Israeli forces,” he said,
calling on the international community to take deliberate
international political action to put an immediate end to the
continuing carnage.

Senior UN aid official John Ging meanwhile informed reporters
that this was the fifth UN school that had been struck during the
23-day conflict.

"These locations are not safe. Nowhere is safe," Ging said.
"They are being told to flee areas, get out of areas, but to
where? Where should they go?” he wondered.

"If this were a conflict elsewhere in the world they would at
least have the option of crossing borders and seeking sanctuary
in neighboring countries. They don't have that option," Ging
said.

Commenting on the ongoing IDF operation in Gaza, the United
Nations said "enough is enough" saying that civilians
have no place to hide from the Israeli onslaught.

"This is a moment where you really have to say 'enough is
enough' and you have to search for the right words to convince
those who have the power to stop this," said UN Deputy
Secretary-General Jan Eliass.

Eliass questioned Israeli tactics of dropping warning leaflets
and making calls ahead of renewed military shelling. "Where
do they go? There's very few places to go in Gaza."

The United Nations is protecting more than 200,000 people at its
facilities, some 1.8 million people live in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the IDF announced a unilateral four-hour
humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza beginning from 3pm local time
(12:00 GMT).

The IDF also warned Gaza residents not to return “to areas
from which they have been asked to evacuate.”

According to the latest death toll given by the Palestinian
Health Ministry, 129 people were killed and at least 400 people
wounded on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing IDF
operation. The death toll now stands at 1,359 people with 7,677
wounded.

It’s not the first time that an UNRWA facility has been targeted
in Gaza: on Tuesday, the UN refugee agency stated that it had
found a cache of rockets at one of its schools in the Gaza Strip.

The agency condemned those responsible for the action.

“We condemn the group or groups who endangered civilians by
placing these munitions in our school. This is yet another
flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises. We call on
all the warring parties to respect the inviolability of UN
property," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said in a
statement.

Israel holds no responsibility for the deaths of people during
the shelling of the Gaza school, Israel’s ambassador to Russia
said in her official statement on the issue.

“Regarding the Hamas accusing Israel of shelling and
inflicting damage on the school, after a probe by the Israeli
army, it turned out that the school in Beit Hanoun was empty
during the shelling,” Dorit Golender said.

She added that Hamas allegedly regularly uses civilian buildings
like schools and hospitals to store weaponry.

“Three missiles were found hidden in UN schools. The latest
incident was reported at 3am on Wednesday,” Golender said.

The shelling came as a Palestinian delegation was preparing for a
trip to Cairo to discuss a temporary humanitarian ceasefire.

The Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos has condemned the
intensity of the violence in Gaza, as another UN school serving
as a shelter was hot in what she called a “gross violation of
international law”.

“Yesterday the UNSCO/UNOCHA Headquarters in Gaza was hit five
times over a period between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Gaza’s sole power
plant was also hit and is unlikely to be operable for the
foreseeable future leaving most homes with an average of 2 hours
of electricity per day,” she said.